The Secret Behind the Date
by PastaLovingIdjit
Summary: Everyone's supposed to be happy on their birthday and as far as everyone knows America is supposedly no exception. So then why is there no party this year and why are Canada and Mexico getting all defensive and how is this all related to England? A different spin on America's birthday. USUK. Human names used. Rated T for France's pervertedness.


**Hey there authoress speaking! I know that this is technically over two months late but you never quite know when inspiration will strike. So enjoy my ridiculously late birthday present to Alfred!**

The Secret Behind the Date

Birthdays are supposed to be happy days.

They're supposed to be filled with cake and friends and family and presents. They're supposed to be happy, joy-filled memories. At least, that's what Alfred had heard and saw from his people.

For him, birthdays were filled with nothing but regret and heartache, though you'd hardly guess from all the extravagant parties he's thrown on his own birthday. As far as the other nations were concerned, Alfred loved his birthday with his entire being and they were always guaranteed to have a crazy-good night with some very interesting stories to be told the next day to hung-over countries.

There were only two countries who knew Alfred's secret, Matthew and Maria, aka Canada and Mexico. They were the ones that knew the smiles Alfred gave other nations on his birthday were forced and strained, that his eyes sometimes became a bit too bright when he thought no one was watching and quickly wiped the threatening tears away.

They knew that Arthur wasn't the only one who got painfully sick on this day, who hated what the date signified. Alfred did too.

They knew that during each and every party Alfred would disappear, sometimes for a few hours, though no one ever noticed with the ridiculously long guest list. If one was to venture around the house to track down the birthday boy, they'd find themselves in the basement with a sobbing Alfred holding an ancient gun to his chest.

The reason why Alfred always threw such massive parties each year and invited everyone to it was to keep his mind busy, to try and forget all the memories tied to that date. The week before the fourth he'd throw himself into his work, slaving over it for hours and only being pulled away when he collapsed from exhaustion on his desk and was carried home by Matthew.

Though Alfred had never confessed to either of his siblings his reasons behind his actions, the two both instantly had realized his reasons. They were family after all, having grown up together for centuries before any European had stepped foot on their land. They knew each other inside and out.

It was because they were family that Maria and Matthew never said a word about it and instead tried to help Alfred as best they could. Matthew would help Alfred go over the guest lists and Maria and Alfred would go out and shopped till they dropped to get all the necessary supplies.

When the big day finally did come around though it was as if all that mad energy Alfred had been exuding the week before just vanished. He became a shell of his usual, obnoxious self. However, the party had already been set in motion by that point and couldn't be cancelled.

Matthew and Maria would be there first thing in the morning, dragging the unwilling birthday boy out of bed, making sure he actually ate something that day, forcing him to take a shower and look presentable. They would stay with him and chat with until the other nations arrived and then they kept a careful eye on their brother throughout the night, ready to swoop in and whisk him away if it seemed he couldn't handle it.

For the most part, Matthew and Maria thought they did a pretty good job of helping to hide Alfred's secret, but at the same time they both grew increasingly frustrated. They hated watching Alfred put on that fake mask each year, trying to make everyone else happy instead of himself.

Of course, over the years some nations had taken note of Alfred's mysterious disappearances in the middle of the party, or the distant look he'd get in his eyes when he zoned out. They noticed, but never said or did anything about it.

Finally, the two of them had had enough. Alfred's birthday was rolling around once again and as per usual he was planning out every single detail with Matthew and Maria sitting around him at the table. "Oh and of course we're going to need streamers and balloons again but we should hide the helium from Prussia. I don't think we want a repeat of '05. Ooh and also we have to order the fireworks soon so that they can be shipped here in time and I was thinking that this time we could set them off on the beach and everyone could be sitting on towels or blankets or something. Hey do you guys think you could spare me some blankets? Oh and als-"

"_Shut up_ Alfred!" Maria said loudly, slamming her hands on the table. Alfred blinked owlishly at her.

"You 'kay Maria? You're not like on your period or something?"

"_What_? Why the hell would you ask me that?"

"Well, I know that when girls get their periods they get like, mood swings right? Do you need me to grab you some chocolate or something? I heard that stuff usually works…" Sometimes Maria really, really wished God had put a filter in her brother's head and the intelligence to use it properly.

"Dios Al, shut up!" Maria yelled, her face beet red. Matthew was trying unsuccessfully to hide his laughter with a coughing fit. "I'm _not_ on my period!"

"Alright so then why are you being all sensitive and crap?" Alfred asked. Maria just glared at Matthew. They'd discussed this last night so Maria was handing it off to him since she was just about ready to smack their brother. "Uh, Al I think what Maria was trying to say is that maybe you shouldn't throw a big party this year," Matthew interjected.

"Wait, what? Why no party man? The Hero needs to celebrate his birthday!" Alfred asked in confusion. "Besides, everyone knows I always throw a big party on my birthday. Why not this year?"

"Well, um, you see we just think that maybe it'd be a good change up," Matthew offered, unsure of how to properly phrase his thoughts. "We can just do a family one. Humans do it all the time. Just you, me and Maria," he added with a small smile.

"I don't know man…"

"Ugh, I can't take this anymore!" Maria snapped. "Stop acting like you actually want people over on your birthday!"

"What are you talking about?" Alfred exclaimed. "Of course I want people over, that's how you're supposed to celebrate a birthday!"

"If you want that then why do you always go off alone to cry?" Maria accused. Alfred glanced away guiltily, his cheeks turning red in embarrassment.

"How did you know that?" he mumbled. Maria's hard gaze softened as she looked at her brother.

"We're family Al. Things like that are kinda hard to miss," she said in a gentler voice.

"You knew too?" Alfred asked, turning to their brother.

"Yeah," Matthew confirmed with a small nod. Alfred looked between the two of them and sighed tiredly, a bit of his mask cracking. "Do any of the others know?" Alfred asked in a quiet voice. The other two shook their heads in unison. "Good…"

"Alfred, you know we care about you right?" Maria asked. Alfred looked at her and slowly nodded. "So just trust us this once and don't throw a party this year." Alfred looked down at the table top, his brows knitting together. The idea of not throwing a party sounded foreign in Alfred's ears, he'd just never _not_ thrown a party before. He'd didn't like the thought of being alone in his house surrounded by all the old memories that were brought back from the dead on that date.

Still though, he did trust Matthew and Maria and their judgment.

"Okay…" he agreed after a minute or two of silence. Matthew and Maria both visibly relaxed. They had planned on Alfred being stubborn and fighting him, but it seemed that it wasn't needed.

"You guys will still come over right?" Alfred timidly asked. As if planned the two countries stood up together and walked around to group-hug Alfred.

"Of course we will," they promised.

…

Arthur had just been preparing his afternoon tea when Francis called. It was a day before the fourth and Arthur was not feeling well. Of course this always happened around this time of the year. His mind would be haunted by memories of the past and his body would pay the price, making him very sick each year. Everyone usually did well to avoid the Englishman during this time of the year, everyone except Francis of course.

"Why the hell are you calling me?" Arthur snapped as he picked up the phone, not even bothering with trying to be polite.

"What, no hello to your favorite Frenchman? You are so mean Angleterre," Francis joked across the line.

"Again, what the bloody hell do you want Francis? I have things that need to be done."

"As stuck up as ever I see. Anyways I was calling to ask you about Alfred's party."

"What about his party?" Arthur asked. He knew that each year his former colony threw a massive birthday party that the entire world was practically invited to. Arthur got an invitation every year and every year he politely declined. Thinking about it now though, Arthur didn't remember getting an invitation this year. Had the git finally gotten the message to leave him alone? The question left an unsettling feel in the Brit's gut.

"Oh I see, did you finally get banned for trying to feel up Matthew one too many times?" he sneered.

"Non it is not that, though I have been warned. It is that apparently there is no party this year!" Arthur almost spit out the tea he was sipping. Alfred not having a birthday party? Had hell truly frozen over?

"Please, that's ridiculous," Arthur said. "Alfred loves throwing those ridiculous, over-the-top parties of his each year."

"It is true though. I just got the letter this morning, apparently he's not having one this year."

"Ha ha very funny frog. I bet this is just some joke you and Alfred are trying to pull on me. Well the jokes on you." With that Arthur hung up, not waiting to hear the Frenchman's reply. This had to be a joke right? Alfred always threw a party.

What if he was sick though? What if something had happened? In a fit of worry Arthur hit speed dial and called Alfred's house. The phone rang three times until someone finally picked up. "Hello?" the voice asked. It sounded very much like Alfred, but not at the same time.

"Matthew?" Arthur questioned.

"Oh hello Arthur," Matthew replied and Arthur breathed a sigh of relief at correctly telling the two apart this time. "Is there something you need?"

"Yes, I wanted to speak with Alfred," Arthur told him. "I heard he's not having his party this year and I was wondering if something was wrong." There was a long pause on the line that made Arthur instantly suspicious. "Yes, well about that. You're right; Alfred isn't having a party this year. He's… not feeling well."

"Do you want me to come over and help?" Arthur asked. No matter how he was feeling during this time of the year if Alfred needed him then he'd be there in a flash. If Alfred was indeed ill then Arthur thought that he should come over to take care of him. After all, Alfred had gotten sick quite a few times when he was still a colony. The memories of taking care of little, sick Alfred made Arthur's head hurt, but he pushed past the headache. No, he couldn't focus on that right now.

"No, it's fine," Matthew replied hastily.

"Are you sure? You know I don't really mind-"

"Arthur, I said it's fine," Matthew interrupted, causing the Brit to jerk in surprise. Matthew was never rude like that to anyone. What in the world was going on over across the pond? "Maria and I are here so we're fine. Besides, I know you usually don't feel well this time of year so I don't want you to push yourself. One sick nation is bad enough as it is," he said, trying to joke at the end but Arthur could hear the falseness in his voice.

"Look I gotta go. I'll see you at the next World Meeting okay?" and before Arthur could reply the line went dead. He glanced in confusion at his cold cup of tea sitting delicately on the armrest of his chair. On any other given occasion, Arthur would have probably listened to Matthew and minded his own business. However, this involved Alfred, which the Brit still considered very much to be his business. Coupled with the weird way Matthew had been talking and the cancelation of a four hundred year old tradition, Arthur just couldn't let it go.

He once again dialed a number on his phone, this one to get him on the soonest flight to America.

When he arrived in America the next day it was about one in the afternoon. The flight, coupled with the two hour taxi ride to his house left the island nation standing at Alfred's front door at three. He was already in shaky condition, sweat trickling down the back of his neck and his breaths labored. Still though, his concern was over Alfred's health and not his own.

With a slightly shaking arm he rang the doorbell. After a minute of silence Arthur feared that he'd perhaps chosen the wrong house and that Alfred was instead in his apartment in New York. As Arthur began to mentally berate himself he heard a slight shuffle from inside and then the door was opened, revealing a confused Matthew.

"Arthur?" he asked in disbelief. "What are you doing here?" Honestly, Arthur didn't really know how to explain his actions; they barely made logical sense in his own head. All he knew was that he wanted to see Alfred and make sure he was okay.

"I wanted to check up on Alfred," Arthur explained. "I have business here in the States anyways so I thought I could just pop in on him quickly."

"Ah, Arthur I don't really think that's the best idea," Matthew said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Like I said, Alfred is sick. I don't want you to possibly catch anything."

"Please, I'll be fine. I survived the plague, nothing can be worse than that," Arthur countered.

"Hey Matt, is someone at the door?" a voice called out. Matthew turned and Arthur watched Maria come over beside her brother. "Arthur?" she asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"He wants to see Alfred," Matthew answered for him quietly. Maria narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Well you can't okay," she said harshly.

"And why the hell not?" Arthur countered, growing increasingly frustrated with Alfred's siblings. Why wouldn't they just let Arthur take one quick look?

"Because he doesn't want to see you," she stated in that same tone as before. "_Especially_ you."

Arthur felt his blood run cold. Alfred didn't want to see him anymore? But why? Even though their relationship was confusing and Arthur couldn't fully understand his emotions surrounding the American, they were still friends. Right? "Maria…" Matthew pleaded. As Matthew and Maria looked about to start arguing Arthur caught a glimpse of Alfred's signature cowlick bounce into another room.

Taking his chance, Arthur mustered up all his waning strength and shot past the two countries and into the house. He stumbled into the room and opened his mouth to say something, but whatever it was died on his lips as he took in America's appearance.

His sky blue eyes were bloodshot and his eyes were puffy from crying. His normally smiling lips were pulled into a thin line and his hair was sticking up all over the place. His normally tan skin was a tad paler than usual and he seemed to exude an aura of despair. Arthur supposed that if he was to look in a mirror that he'd look the same as Alfred right now.

"Al…fred?" Arthur asked haltingly. Alfred jerked at the sound of his name and their eyes met for a split second before he was racing off through the house with Arthur hot on his trails. _Bloody hell_, Arthur thought as he ran, his heart pounding painfully in his ears. He felt like his body was going to give out any second if they kept running.

They raced up the stairs and Arthur was just able to leap through the open door leading in Alfred's bedroom before the younger nation had the chance to slam the door and lock it. The door did slam and lock on its own accord and was quickly followed by several loud thumps from the other side from Maria and Matthew. "Alfred, open the door!" they called out. Alfred ignored them though and collapsed on the floor by the foot of his bed.

Arthur cautiously walked over to the young nation and noticed that he was trembling. "Alfred, what's wrong?" Arthur asked as gently as he could. Alfred ignored his voice, turning his head to the side and staring hard at the wooden floors. He knew that he could easily throw the Brit out of his room, but he found that he simply couldn't for whatever reason. Maybe it was because all these painful memories that haunted him were tied up with the man in his room.

Carefully, Arthur sat down beside Alfred, trying to make eye-contact with him. He flinched when Arthur put a hand on his shoulder and finally he turned his head and their eyes met. Alfred wanted to be strong, to show that there was nothing wrong with him. But, this was Arthur standing before him, the one man who could always see past his mask. So he didn't even bother to hide it. Arthur could see so much pain and sadness in his eyes, it didn't suit Alfred at all. "What are you doing here?" he asked in a small voice. "Aren't you supposed to be home?"

"Aren't you supposed to be throwing a party?" Arthur countered. Alfred glanced back the floor. Arthur sighed, he had to try and not sound so irritated with him. "I was checking up on you. Matthew told me you were sick, though I don't think he was telling the truth now that I'm here."

"I thought you got really sick this time of year though?"

"I do," Arthur confirmed with a horrid cough. "I'm sick right now, truth be told. However, I thought I'd at least check up on you."

"I'm sick too," Alfred added. "Just like you…" He said the last part so quietly that Arthur barely heard it, but he did.

"What do you mean just like me?" Arthur gawked. Alfred always seemed so happy on his birthday; he'd rubbed his independence in Arthur's face on countless occasions. How could he be telling Arthur that he got sick just like him on his birthday? "It's the memories right? They come back and all you can think about is that day in the rain," Alfred said, his voice bitter.

"Yes," Arthur stuttered in surprise. He'd never told his former colony the specifics about his yearly illness, so how did Alfred know? Had someone told him?

Alfred pulled his legs up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them and resting his head on his knees. "They come back for me too," Alfred said in a quiet voice. "I keep replaying it over in my head. Did I do the right thing? Could I have done something different? Could I have said something else?"

Arthur nodded, knowing those same thoughts swirled in his own mind constantly. The 'what ifs'?

"I don't think I could have, but I still think about it." Arthur watched Alfred's eyes tear up. "It makes my head and heart hurt so I throw those parties to try and distract myself, but it never really helps."

"Alfred…" Arthur was at a loss for what to do, how to comfort him. So he did the only thing he could think of. He stretched his arm across Alfred's shoulders and dragged the young nation into a hug. The young nation took a shuddering breath before adjusting his position so that he could press his face against Arthur, his tears staining Arthur's shirt.

"I'm sorry," he whimpered.

"What in the world are you sorry for?" Arthur asked in surprise, his hand instinctively snaking through Alfred's hair.

"I'm sorry about just walking away," he mumbled against Arthur's shirt. "I shouldn't have left you there in that field. I always wanted to apologize, but I just couldn't do it back then. I'm sorry though, I really am." Those two small words left Arthur feeling breathless. He never in his wildest dreams thought that Alfred would ever apologize about that day. He felt like his heart had grown lighter upon hearing those words and he felt the need to return the favor.

"I'm sorry too…" Arthur said quietly. "I want you to know though that even if your independence still pains me, I don't blame you anymore. I'm proud of the nation and man you've become." For as long as he could remember, he'd always tried to impress Arthur and to have Arthur acknowledge him. So to hear that from Arthur took a great weight off the American's already heavy heart. Perhaps, they could finally move past this day, both of them.

When Matthew and Maria finally managed to pick the lock on Alfred's door they found the two lying in a mess of limbs on the floor, Alfred's head resting firmly on Arthur's chest, their breathing in perfect unison. Not wanting to disturb the pair who so clearly needed the reprieve, the two draped Alfred's Superman comforter over the two and left them in peace.

…

After Arthur had left a change seemed to come over Alfred. He was by nature a hyperactive, obnoxious knuckleheaded country but it seemed to explode tenfold. It seemed that his laughter could be heard an entire country away and his smiles seemed to rival the sun itself now. What surprised almost everyone though was the sheer amount of time Arthur and Alfred spent wasn't unusual for Alfred to unexpectedly pop over Arthur's house on occasion, but the on occasion had morphed into an almost everyday event.

What surprised even more people was that Arthur seldom complained about it, instead he seemed to only encourage it by constantly arriving at Alfred's house.

Francis was left speechless, Elizabeta was readying her camera, and Kiku was readying his next manga strip for Elizabeta's photos.

A year eventually rolled around and once again Alfred's birthday was coming in fast.

This year everyone received an invitation and of course came by to wish Alfred another happy birthday. However, eventually the mass of countries realized that the birthday boy was nowhere to be seen. "Mattheiu have you seen your brother?" Francis asked. "No one can seem to find him anywhere." Matthew scratched the back of his neck. Alfred had given Matthew a small lie to tell the party guests when his disappearance became apparent. However, Matthew just couldn't stand to lie to Francis' face.

"Well, about that, you see…"

...

Arthur sighed as he put his book down and stood up. All the way down the hall he could hear the doorbell ringing incessantly, which gave him a pretty good idea of who was standing outside. "Bloody hell Alfred, you're going to break it," Arthur complained as he swung the door open, revealing said young nation.

"Heya Artie," Alfred greeted with a crooked smile.

"It's Arthur," he corrected as he allowed the American inside. "I still don't know why you insisted on spending your birthday with me this year."

"Well, I didn't want you to be miserable all by yourself, so I thought we could do it together," Alfred replied ahead of him. Arthur just shook his head in amazement.

"I told you on the phone yesterday that I was feeling fine." Truth be told, Arthur actually was feeling fine. Usually by this time of day he was practically bed-ridden, fighting off the memories that danced across his closed eyelids. Though he could feel them flickering in the back of his mind, they didn't consume his attention like before. It was a nice relief. He wondered silently if it was the same for Alfred, he certainly didn't look the same as on his last birthday.

Neither had any special plans set up for the day, so they did whatever they wanted, treating the day as if it was just another normal day. Alfred had brought several gaming consoles along with countless games over to Arthur's place throughout the year, slowly building up a towering stack that rivaled Arthur's book collection.

While Arthur grabbed some chips and snacks Alfred loaded up a random game and they spent the time battling against each other, talking, laughing and all together enjoying each other's company.

It was strange to be this close with Alfred. It seemed that that conversation they'd had last year had torn down that last wall between them that had prevented any sort of deep friendship. It was gone now though and Arthur believed he now knew the American better than his own brother!

With their friendship had come some other feelings that at first Arthur had vehemently denied, but they had somehow snaked past him and wrapped themselves tightly around his heart. Arthur didn't know if Alfred felt the same as him and he wasn't about to risk their friendship to find out, so he contented himself with just being in the American's presence, taking in all he could before he left.

What Arthur didn't know was that Alfred did return those feelings just as readily as he gave them and he was more than ready to risk it. In fact he even had a plan, well sorta but it was at least a general idea of what he wanted to happen.

Sometime after the fifth game they'd played Alfred declared that he was hungry and that they should bake something. Arthur suggested that they could make a cake and Alfred readily agreed.

Their attempt to create a cake almost immediately dissolved as Arthur accidently got some flour on Alfred and said country felt the need to retaliate.

With an entire bag of flour.

Which is what lead Arthur's entire kitchen to become coated in various shades and amounts of white. The nations were lying on the dirty ground, exhausted and laughing. They couldn't remember the last time they'd had this much fun together. "You destroyed my kitchen," Arthur complained with a chuckle.

"Correction, _we_ destroyed your kitchen," Alfred replied cheekily.

"So is this the best birthday you've ever had?" Arthur asked sarcastically as he looked up at the ceiling.

"Hm… almost," Alfred replied. Even though he'd said it jokingly Arthur felt a little disappointed, after all he'd thought they'd had quite a bit of fun today. Then again with some of the stories he'd heard from returning nations, Alfred's birthdays could be quite extreme. This was probably nothing compared to what he's already done…

His thought process was cut off as he felt something warm pressed against his temple. He turned his head just in time to see Alfred pulling back. Even though his entire face was caked in white flour Arthur could still see the red spreading across his cheeks and down the back of his neck as he gave Arthur a nervous smile.

"Now it's the best birthday ever," he stated. Arthur felt his face turn scarlet and Alfred grew fidgety with his silence.

"Uh… Arthur, you gonna say something? I'm sorry if you didn't like that, I mean it's my birthday so I thought like 'what the hell I might as well just go for it' but if you don't feel the same then I'm sorry. Christ are you there Artie? Shit I think I broke him…"

Arthur chose that moment to turn his brain back on and pulled the American to him, smashing their lips together. Alfred was confused at first but then eagerly kissed him back, his large hands cupping Arthur's flour-caked face. Likewise the brit snaked his hand through Alfred's hair, getting even more flour engrained in his hair.

"Ohohoho I see you finally gave Alfred his birthday present!"

"_Francis_?" Arthur and Alfred exclaimed at the same time as they jumped guiltily to their feet, their cheeks flaming.

They looked around wildly but saw no sign of the Frenchman. "Don't bother mes amis I am a safe distance away." The two nations found the source of his voice coming from the black-turned-white land line attached to the wall in the kitchen. Arthur immediately turned to the open window, which must be where Francis was spying from, curses spilling out of his mouth at Francis' pervertedness.

"Ohoho, Matthieu did you get the pictures for Elizabeta and Kiku? Oh they will be so excited!"

"Wait- what Mattie?" Alfred exclaimed in confusion.

"Sorry, Al," he heard his brother reply. "It's not every day such prime blackmail material comes around. You two do look quite cute together."

"If you two ever decide to do a threesome do not forget to call! Au reviour!" Francis sang out through the phone and then the line went dead. Alfred and Arthur glanced at each other, their faces red with embarrassment. "We're doomed," Alfred stated with finality. Matthew would hang those pictures over his head for _decades_.

He became suspicious when Arthur gave him a wicked smile that sent a shiver up his spine. "Well, if we're doomed, then I guess I can do this." And with that Arthur dragged Alfred down by his shirt and smashed their lips together once again, in a very, very non-friendly way that made Alfred moan in pleasure.

When they pulled away Alfred was absolutely beaming. "Yep, best birthday ever."

**Awww I just love USUK too much for my own good. **

**Hope I got the fluff/angst ratio right. I was just envisioning this in my mind and then when it went down on the computer I was like 'crap this is harder than I thought it'd be!'**

**So like review and stuff, pretty please?**


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